Hymie Rubenstein, editor of REAL Indigenous Report, is a retired professor of anthropology at the University of Manitoba and a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.According to data obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, Canada has normalized anti-Semitism and made public spaces unsafe for Jews, including children. The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights was told on October 20. Witnesses testifying at the start of hearings on anti-Semitism said public expression of hatred was so commonplace that it is now “pervasive and casual, even fashionable.”“Anti-Semitism has morphed from the occasional shocking event to becoming normalized, pervasive, and casual, even fashionable,” testified Stacey Leavitt-Wright, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton. “It is a daily reality that affects how we gather, how we educate our children, how we practice our faith, and how we show up in society. The result is fear and exhaustion.”.OLDCORN: Ding dong the witch is dead, Gondek’s exit gives Calgary hope.Leavitt-Wright said she is avoiding parts of her city even in daylight hours. “When protestors holding signs about Israel chant, ‘Throw them off buildings,’ ‘kill the Jews’ on Whyte Avenue, this is no longer about one’s right to protest the activities of the Israeli government,” she said.“It is hate speech, intimidation, and incitement, and this area of the city is no longer accessible to me on a weekend afternoon,” said Leavitt-Wright. “When incidents like this happen, Edmonton is no longer a safe city for Jews.”“We appeal to our government to put the brakes on Jew hatred,” said Leavitt-Wright, adding that many Jews have reconsidered residency here. “Truth be told, many Canadian Jews have a safety plan in place, looking to what country, including Israel, can be a safe harbour to Canada becoming even more unrecognizable,” she said..Belle Jarniewski, executive director of the Manitoba Institute to Combat Anti-Semitism, described hatred as pervasive and aggressive. “Anti-Jewish hate and the politicization of anti-Semitism have become normalized in Canadian society,” she said.“Anti-Israel protests in our streets have openly vilified Canadian Jews and called for destruction of the only Jewish state,” said Jarniewski. “A Winnipeg leader of these rallies referred to Zionism as a disease that must be destroyed. Open threats have been made.”“Let me be clear: Canadian Jews no longer feel safe,” said Jarniewski. “We have witnessed attacks on Jewish institutions and individuals.”.HANNAFORD: Your ten-year tweet was satire, right Mr. Trudeau?.At Folklorama’s Israel Pavilion, Shalom Square, held at the Jewish Community Centre in Winnipeg in mid-August, attendees faced something that should be unthinkable in Canada. An unruly mob openly celebrated Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, directly harassing Jewish community members, their supporters, and guests of all faiths and nationalities for several hours. Frightening threats were shouted, including vile sexualized slurs aimed at women and girls and menacing declarations like, “Hamas is coming for you.” This was not just offensive speech — it was a breach of Canadian law, a violation of the fundamental right to safety, and a profound failure of leadership because none of the Hamas supporters were charged with uttering threats.Rivka Campbell, executive director of Beth Tikvah Synagogue of Toronto, said her institution had been targeted with vandalism and arson attacks since the October 7, 2023 rape, torture, killing, and abduction of Jews in Israel by Hamas terrorists. “Sometimes it isn’t about education,” she said. “Sometimes it’s just willful anti-Semitism, and if it is, there need to be consequences.”.“Symbolic gestures such as tweets on Holocaust Remembrance Day, vague statements about ‘standing against hate’ are insufficient,” said Campbell. “Responses to acts of anti-Semitism using the words ‘we condemn all hate,’ or ‘we condemn anti-Semitism and — ’ are not enough. Condemnation of anti-Semitism stands alone.”Jews comprise less than one percent of the Canadian population. Still, they are disproportionately targeted compared to Muslims, who make up nearly five percent of the population in most police-reported hate crimes, according to Statistics Canada data.There were 1,284 hate crimes targeting a religion in 2023, 516 more than in 2022. This marked a 67% increase from 2022, and a 45% increase from the previous high in 2021 (886 hate crimes). The increase from 2022 was primarily the result of more police-reported hate crimes targeting the Jewish (+71%, to 900 incidents) and Muslim (+94%, to 211 incidents) populations..STIRLING: Straw that broke the camel's back? SME productivity meets Canada Post’s climate activism.Most hate crimes targeting a religion reported by police in 2023 were directed at the Jewish (70%) and Muslim (16%) populations.In 2024, Canada’s largest city, Toronto, whose metropolitan area houses the country’s largest Jewish and Muslim populations, anti-Jewish occurrences accounted for 40% of the reported hate crimes (177 occurrences). In the same year, there was a 15% decrease in reported anti-Muslim occurrences (28 occurrences) over 2023 (33 occurrences). .Mischief-related occurrences (i.e., graffiti and vandalism) continue to be the leading occurrence type, representing more than half of all occurrences. In 2024, there were 240 occurrences, representing a 23% increase over 2023 when there were 195 occurrences. Anti-Jewish mischief-related occurrences represent the highest, 33% (148 occurrences) of the total reported hate crimes in 2024.In short, taken together, all these figures show that antisemitic hate crimes are numerically and proportionately much higher than Islamophobic or other hate crimes.Richard Robertson, research director for B’nai Brith Canada, told senators on October 20 that anti-Semitism had become “ingrained into our society” since the heinous Hamas attack on Israelis in October 2023. “The numbers are painting a stark picture,” he said..GOLDBERG: The Liberals want an election — but they won’t get one .“Act now,” said Robertson. “Increasingly, Jewish Canadians do not feel safe in their own country. Some have begun to question their future as Canadians.”The human rights committee is not due to report its findings until late 2026. “We do not have another year to spare,” testified B’nai Brith’s Robertson. “The hate is manifesting, and threats are compounding.”Hymie Rubenstein, editor of REAL Indigenous Report, is a retired professor of anthropology at the University of Manitoba and a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
